Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s extraordinary life and legacy has touched and continues to inspire many lives.

In 1968, Murray Schumach wrote in Dr. King’s New York Times obituary: “To many million of American Negroes, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was the prophet of their crusade for racial equality. He was their voice of anguish, their eloquence in humiliation, their battle cry for human dignity. He forged for them the weapons of nonviolence that withstood and blunted the ferocity of segregation. And to many millions of American whites, he was one of a group of Negroes who preserved the bridge of communication between races.”

As we celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and the Nobel Peace Prize winner who fought so tirelessly for civil rights and equality, we reflect on the impact of this great visionary.

Barack Obama (speaking at Martin Luther King Jr.’s National Memorial groundbreaking ceremony in 2006):“Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was not a president of the United States—at no time in his life did he hold public office. He was not a hero of foreign wars. He never had much money, and while he lived he was reviled at least as much as he was celebrated. By his own accounts, he was a man frequently racked with doubt, a man not without flaws, a man who, like Moses before him, more than once questioned why he had been chosen for so arduous a task—the task of leading a people to freedom, the task of healing the festering wounds of a nation’s original sin.

And yet lead a nation he did. Through words he gave voice to the voiceless. Through deeds he gave courage to the faint of heart. By dint of vision, and determination, and most of all faith in the redeeming power of love, he endured the humiliation of arrest, the loneliness of a prison cell, the constant threats to his life, until he finally inspired a nation to transform itself, and begin to live up to the meaning of its creed.

Like Moses before him, he would never live to see the Promised Land. But from the mountain top, he pointed the way for us – a land no longer torn asunder with racial hatred and ethnic strife, a land that measured itself by how it treats the least of these, a land in which strength is defined not simply by the capacity to wage war but by the determination to forge peace—a land in which all of God’s children might come together in a spirit of brotherhood.

We have not yet arrived at this longed for place. For all the progress we have made, there are times when the land of our dreams recedes from us—when we are lost, wandering spirits, content with our suspicions and our angers, our long-held grudges and petty disputes, our frantic diversions and tribal allegiances. And yet, by erecting this monument, we are reminded that this different, better place beckons us, and that we will find it not across distant hills or within some hidden valley, but rather we will find it somewhere in our hearts.”

Harry Belafonte:“Even today when I hear the ‘I Have a Dream’ speech for the 5 millionth time with that voice..and the rhythm and the pace. I put it on the par with Lincoln’s great speech. I think it’s one of the great speeches in American history.”

Oprah Winfrey: (Winfrey addressed the crowd at the 2013 ceremony to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington.)“Dr. King was the passionate voice that awakened the conscience of a nation and inspired people all over the world. The power of his words resonated because they were spoken out of an unwavering belief in freedom and justice, equality and opportunity for all. …think about that young man, who, at 34 years old, stood up here and was able to force an entire country to wake up, to look at itself and to eventually change. And as we, the people, continue to honor the dream of a man and a movement, a man who in his short life saw suffering and injustice and refused to look the other way, we can be inspired and we, too, can be courageous by continuing to walk in the footsteps in the path that he forged. He is the one who reminded us that we will never walk alone. He was, after all, a drum major for justice…let us reflect on the bravery, let us reflect on the sacrifice of those who stood up for freedom, who stood up for us, whose shoulders we now stand on… let us ask ourselves: How will the dream live in me, in you, in all of us?..one of my favorite quotes from him is, “Not everybody can be famous, but everybody can be great because greatness is determined by service.”

Forest Whitaker:“Growing up, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was the one photograph that every black household had. There were little placards made out of metal stuck against the wall. You followed him because he was holding your hope. The hope that you were going to be able to live your life full with equality.”

Maya Angelou:“The fact that he was a hero to me and that I knew then and know even more every day that people live in direct relation to the heroes and sheroes. The fact that he was of such importance to my country, to my people, all those facts must take backstage to the truth that he was killed on my birthday. That my friend was killed on my birthday. It becomes a very personal loss. I [still] find myself unable to celebrate my birthday. I have taken his assassination personal. And my life will forever be changed.”

Bill Clinton: (The former president spoke at the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington):“He urged the victims of racial violence to meet white Americans with an outstretched hand, not a clenched fist, and, in so doing, to prove the redeeming power of unearned suffering. And then he dreamed of an America where all citizens would sit together at the table of brotherhood, where little white boys and girls and little black boys and girls would hold hands across the color line, where his own children would be judged not by the color of their skin but by the content of their character….This march and that speech changed America. They opened minds, they melted hearts and they moved millions, including a 17-year-old boy watching alone in his home in Arkansas. It was an empowering moment, but also an empowered moment.”

Bono:“The dream that Dr. King was talking about was a much bigger idea. It was much older than the American dream. It was much bigger—so big it could fit Ireland in, so big it could fit Africa in. It transcended nationality. Dr. King himself transcended nationality. His ideas travel. They reached me clear as any tune lodged in my consciousness like a song I couldn’t shake in a war-weary Ireland of the ’70s—bombings, hunger strikes, the whole thing heading south in a spiral of violence. When we were thirsty, parched for the kind of vision that poured forth from the pulpit of Black America, Dr. King opened my mind, my heart, my mouth and that song came out as ‘Pride (In the Name of Love).’ I wrote the lyrics as a hymnal of Dr. King’s. I wrote another song …called ‘MLK,’ as sort of a lullaby for an idea that was dying in our country—the idea of non-violence. All inspired by a black reverend from Atlanta who refused to hate because he thought love would do a better job.”

Morgan Freeman:“Dr. Martin Luther King is not a Black hero. He is an American hero. The world needs his message today more than ever before.”

AMG/Parade Digital

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